Jim & Brooke come to visit.

Jim and Brooke drove up from Daytona for the Jaguars/Colts game.

First stop... Bud Zone!Jim's a big Dolphins fan, but he had to represent the home team!

We scalped four tix from a player's family member. Pretty decent view!Football and my wife... two great things that go great together!

We took a ride to the beach the next morning and took some fun photos.

Beth had to work, so I posed solo.

Palm Springs

Beth and I traveled to Palm Springs for Q-School finals over Thanksgiving weekend.

It was her first trip to the desert and I thought she would enjoy the stark landscape.

We stayed at the LaQuinta Resort which is a great historic getaway where many Hollywood stars would come to unwind and escape L.A.

Our "casita"

We took a day trip to Joshua Tree park to do some hiking and rock climbing.We ran into Beth's absolute FAVORITE critter. He was sitting in the road entering the park.

The rocks have a sandpaper-like texture which makes scrambling up a breeze.

I finally caught up to her!

The next adventure was a trip up the Palm Springs Tramway.
It's a 2.5 mile ride up the mountain from the desert floor.

It was chilly and there was a good bit of snow up top.

Looking down on Palm Springs.

Beth enjoys the view.

A taste of winter.

On our last day, we went horseback riding in the desert. A nice contrast to the snowy mountain!

Our guide brings out the transportation.

He led us on a great 2-hour ride.

It ain't a Harley, but it'll get you from here to there!

Nationwide Tour Championship in Dallas

The Nationwide Tour Championship was in McKinney, TX just north of Dallas. I had to travel on my birthday, but fortunately got to hook up with my buddy Chris Burks who took me out for an evening of music and fun. We had a nice dinner and went to a club he's played a few times to check out some local cover/tribute bands.

Then the work began. I helped Stan cover the weekend at the course and coordinate the big closing ceremony where the top-25 players receive their PGA TOUR card for 2009.

The 25 TOUR cards wait on the first tee as incentive.
Matt Bettencourt wins the tournament
The top-25 finishers pose with their PGA TOUR membership cards.On Saturday the tournament had the local band "Blue Condition" perform on the clubhouse deck. They were really good and the light got really nice toward sunset.
I had some fun with "detail shots".Last light.

Rainy Sonoma

The Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Sonoma is usually one of the highlights of my season. I get to visit my brother in Berkeley and spend a week in wine country. This year was an exception. Beth was unable to make the trip, and it turns out that she was lucky she didn't. It rained cats & dogs from Thurs-Sunday. It was pretty miserable... Nothing stayed dry and we got completely rained out on Sat. We were lucky to finish on Sunday!

The range balls were drowning
Caddies dry out clubs and bags in the cart barn.
Nick Price walks off the second tee in a downpour.

Even the tournament trophy was barely above water!

The Wedding!

We spent the weekend in Philadelphia to attend Pam and Mark's wedding. The air was crisp and cool. Perfect October weather!
Its the day all little girls dream about! Pam arrives for the big event.

Fidgety kids are great!

The ring-bearer makes a run for it!

Classy (b)ride! The car looks good too.

Formal photo time!

The cake had no chance.

The media frenzy.

Take her for a spin.

...And they lived happily ever after!

Philly

Beth and I flew up to Philly for my childhood friend Pam's wedding. We got an early start and saw a beautiful sunrise on the way up north.

We had some time to kill, so we drove through Valley Forge for a bit of history.

The National Memorial Arch.

Statue of General Anthony Wayne

George Washington's headquarters.

The Washington Memorial Chapel.

The bell tower at the Chapel.

Lots of old bronze plaques in the lobby of the tower.

We met the happy couple for dinner and finally met Mark.
And showed them how five good years together can look!